Madueno Questions Election Recount Bill

After requesting – then halting – a recount of ballots from the November election, former Riverbank Mayor Virginia Madueno has now gotten a bill topping $10,000 from Stanislaus County.

Madueno had originally requested a recount of the election ballots on Tuesday, Dec. 4, filing the request one minute before the deadline, after falling a few dozen votes short of the total garnered by challenger Richard O’Brien in the mayoral race. The recount began at 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 10 at the Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters office and after five hours and little movement on the vote count, Madueno opted to cancel the recount and concede the election.

Current Mayor Richard O’Brien defeated Madueno by 53 votes in the Nov.6 election and the final count was 3,098 to 3,045 in O’Brien’s favor.

County officials reportedly had submitted paperwork to Madueno and her supporters indicating that recall cost would be $300 per hour, along with a $2,400 deposit, required for the day of the recount.

Instead of having some of the deposit refunded, which they anticipated since the five-hour recount should only have amounted to $1,500, Madueno was billed for over $7,800 more than the original deposit and now is appealing the bill. She is being represented in the case by attorney Amber Maltbie of Sacramento.

Stanislaus County Clerk-Recorder Lee Lundrigan said the billing covers actual costs to her office and that the taxpayers should not be footing the bill for the recount.